The present invention relates generally to animal cage guards. More specifically, the invention relates to a simple, easy to use cage guard which conforms to the bottom and lower side portions of a cage to keep refuse in the cage while permitting relatively unobstructed viewing of the upper portions of the cage.
Pet cages are typically a wire or barred cage with a floor. The wires or bars making up the sides of the cage are generally uncovered, because an unobstructed view of the animal is preferred. Although this type of design is advantageous for viewing the pet, it often leads to spillage of debris, food, and even unsanitary animal waste, as these substances are likely to pass through the bars or wires making up the sides of the cage. This creates a continuing duty on the part of the pet owner to clean the floors or walls of the area of the home where the cage is placed.
One proposed prior art solution to this problem in the context of bird cages appears in U.S. Pat. No. 1,094,423 to Brandt, which generally teaches a fabric netting structure which attaches to a bird cage by a hook or the like, and which hangs loosely under the cage. Litter expelled from the cage is meant to be caught by the fabric underhanging the cage. This type of cage attachment has the disadvantage of being difficult to remove, difficult to clean, and is prone to accidental spillage. The accidental spillage can occur during cleaning, or debris might escape from the sides of the cage, missing the hanging attachment.
Another proposed solution has been a rectangular attachment which wraps around or envelops the sides of a cage, and is held in place by Velcro or elastic. This design fails to fully solve the problem of debris being ejected from the cage and into the home environment, however, as there is a gap between the bottom and side of the cage allowing for leakage of debris, particularly liquids.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved cage guard which minimizes or prevents unwanted matter from being dispelled from a pet cage.
The present invention solves the problems noted above by providing a cage guard which is durable, easy to use, and which conforms to both the lower sides and bottom of a pet cage.
In one embodiment, the cage guard of the present invention comprises a flexible relatively nonporous bottom designed to conform and snugly fit the bottom of a pet cage. The bottom is attached or integrally formed with a flexible relatively nonporous lower side, which is adapted to conform and snugly fit to the lower sides of a pet cage. The relatively nonporous lower side is in turn attached or integrally formed with a relatively porous upper side which covers a portion of the sides of the cage above those covered by the relatively nonporous lower side.
This design has the advantage of keeping debris from being ejected from lower portions of the cage or slipping through gaps to spill into the home environment. The nonporous lower side advantageously keeps very small particles, fluids and excretions within the cage. The relatively porous upper side permits easy viewing while keeping larger flying particles within the cage. The cage guard is secured to the cage by an elastomeric band attached to the porous upper side. The elastomeric band may extend along the entirety of the circumference of the porous upper side, or along less than the entirety provided that elastomeric band provides sufficient force radially inward to hold the cage guard in place.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an animal cage guard which is composed of a flexible nonporous bottom attached directly to porous sides. The porous sides are provided with an elastomeric band along an at least an upper portion of the circumference of the porous sides to secure the cage guard to an animal cage. The bottom and porous sides are dimensioned such that they are capable of conforming to the shape of the lower portion of the cage. Consequently, this embodiment eliminates the nonporous lower side discussed above.
Preferably, the materials used to manufacture the cage guard are machine washable. Moreover, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to waterproof the nonporous portions, particularly when used with animals likely to expel fluids from lower portions of the cage.
The bottom is preferably constructed of a medium to heavy-weight fabric or fabric-like material, such as polycotton, burlap, polyester, polyester blends, trigger poplin, nylon, vinyl, and Gore-tex(trademark). The nonporous lower side is preferably constructed of the same material as the bottom. The porous side is preferably constructed of a weaved material. For example, the porous side may be constructed of mesh netting, nylon tulle, or an elastic mesh. It is preferred that the porous side have a mesh gauge having apertures smaller than the largest particle which might be ejected from the cage. Depending upon the type of animal kept, the present inventor has found gauge of about 0.1 mm through 3 mm adequate, with 0.2-1 mm being preferred for birds.
The elastomeric band used to secure the cage guard to the cage may take the form of an elastic band, a rubber band, or similar elastomeric structure known to those of skill in the art. Alternately, the elastomeric band may be eliminated where the porous upper sides are formed of elastomeric materials.
In its preferred embodiment, the cage guard of the present invention is used with a bird cage. This is because birds tend to reside in the upper portions of their cages, and consequently, the nonporous side will not interfere with most of the viewing of the birds.